What has my cat done to his head?

[Gertrudetheadelie]

Can anyone shed any light onto what my cat has done to his head please?

We went out for a long walk, came back and I noticed this bald spot on his head. I don't think he had it when we went out but would a bald spot have come about so quickly?

He's not a huge outdoor cat but he does occasionally womble out for five minutes or so before belting it back in and looking longingly at the pantry. He mostly only goes out if we are in the garden too and disappears back inside to watch from the window. I don't think, therefore, he's had enough time to scrap with the local cats and, as he has no teeth, I can't imagine that he'd get into fights willingly!

He's about 15, we think, and was in a bit of a poor state with fleas and reactions to them when he was handed in to CP so I'm particularly wary about skin things.

He's only been with us 2 months but I'm a bit besotted .

Thanks for any wisdom!

He may have been in a fight or caught it on barbed wire or a sharp branch
Try bathing with warm salty water and see how he gets on
If it worsens let the vet have a look at him x

Thank you! That's not implausible as we did have chicken wire on one of our borders - I hadn't thought of that. Is the baldness sudden, do you think, or will he have injured it a while ago?

We adopted a different senior in the summer, but it turned out he had a facial tumour that erupted in the two months after we got him and he had to be PTS, so I think I am possibly embarrassingly protective of our new boy.

Thanks for the advice x

He’s caught it on something or another cat has had a swipe at him. It looks very recent and not bad. Just keep it clean because it could turn into an abscess and they are nasty. He’s got a gorgeous little face bless him x

Could he have had a tick? It's hard to see from the photo but if there is a little puncture wound it could be where the tick's feeding tube had been. Perhaps your cat had scratched his head as the tick had become engorged and dislodged it?

No advice, but just wanted to say that he looks like the most gorgeous teddybear of a cat. No wonder you're besotted!

I hope his head is better, he is completely adorable. You are lovely to give an older cat a home.

Thanks all . I feel a lot better that it is normal now. You know what it is like when you Google any illnesses or skin issues!

He's a lovely, gentle old boy although definitely a lot more agile than we expected given our precious senior and the fact that, at first, we were told he was 16 - this one fell off the worktop trying to break into the microwave by slamming his paw into the door release button!

I've kept the pictures of it so I can compare in a week or so if it is looking better.

I think a fight wound.